CDC forms Ebola response teams, drops expectation that all hospitals can care for patients
All hospitals must still be able to identify, isolate an Ebola patient
Faced with fear and brewing rebellion in the health care community, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has dropped its stance that "any U.S. hospital can take care of an Ebola patient" in favor of rapid response teams.
The CDC Ebola Response Teams will be rapidly dispersed to any hospital in the country that reports a diagnosed case, Tom Frieden, MD, CDC director, said at an Oct. 14 press conference. "We will put a team on the ground within hours with some of the world’s leading experts in how to take care of and protect health care workers from Ebola infection," he said.
Another likely factor in creating CDC rapid response teams and dropping the "all hospitals can treat" mantra is that nursing unions are charging that their member have not been sufficiently trained on Ebola at many hospitals.
"I’ve been hearing loud and clear from health care workers around the country that they are worried — they don’t feel prepared to take care of a patient with Ebola," Frieden said. "We know how to stop Ebola, but we know it’s hard. We know that a single breach, a single slip can cause an infection."
Thus the new emphasis on rapid response teams, though Frieden stressed that every hospital in the country still needs to be ready to diagnose a case of Ebola.
"That means that every doctor, nurse and staff person in an emergency department who cares for someone with fever or other signs of infection should ask where have they been in the last month?" he said. "The fact is that usually infection in health care settings spreads through someone who is not yet diagnosed. We have to shore up the diagnosis of those who have symptoms and have traveled."
Once the diagnosis is made, the hospital can call in a CDC response team, which will include experts in infection control, laboratory science, personal protective equipment, and management of Ebola units. CDC experts will also assist with experimental therapies, public education and environmental controls and waste removal, Frieden said.